Tuesday, April 15, 2014

"The book is long, all right," grinned Harrison Leussler, the publisher's Western representative. He flew from Palm Springs, Cal., to attend a cocktail party for Miss Kennelly at the Multnomah hotel. He recounted how Houghton Mifflin Co. had received a note from an unknown author out in Portland saying: "I've written a book, my first. If you are not interested, please wrap it up and send it back." "In a few days, along came 1000 sheets of closely typewritten copy," Leussler continued. "It was enough to floor a first reader, particularly when the author was unknown." But the first reader read it line by line--all of it. So did the other five readers, then the editor and finally the editor-in-chief "who lost no time in writing a contract." "The book would have ordinarily taken 660 pages, but by lengthening lines and crowding margins a little, it was published in 375," said Leussler. "Not one word of the manuscript was changed or left out." --"First Novel of Portland Author, 'Peaceful [sic] Kingdom', Blunt, Lively," in the Oregon Journal, November 11, 1949, page 1

About Me

The picture is of my step-great-aunt Ardyth Kennelly (married name Ullman) at her typewriter. Her last novel, "Variation West," was published in 2014 by Sunnycroft Books; her memoirs are being prepared for publication. For more information, please visit ardythkennelly.com.